Gold slides 3 percent to lowest since Brexit vote

By Marcy Nicholson and Jan Harvey

NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) - Gold slid more than 3 percent and was on track for its biggest one-day drop in nearly 15 months on Tuesday, reaching its lowest price since Britain's shock vote to leave the European Union in June, as the dollar rallied after upbeat U.S. data.

Spot silver prices followed gold down, on track for their biggest one-day tumble since January 2015 and reaching the lowest price since late June.

Forecast-beating U.S. manufacturing data on Monday, combined with Tuesday's comment by Richmond Federal Reserve President Jeffrey Lacker that there was a strong case for raising interest rates, stoked expectations that the Fed will lift rates by year-end and drove the dollar higher.

Precious metals prices further extended losses after data showed the European Central Bank (ECB) slowed down its money printing in the last week.

Gold's break of support at $1,300 an ounce, which had arrested the metal's August decline, led to a flurry of selling that took prices to the lowest in more than three months at $1,266.33, a level not seen since June 24 in the immediate aftermath of the UK's Brexit vote.

Spot gold was down 3.1 percent at $1,270.31 an ounce by 3:09 p.m. EDT (1909 GMT), while U.S. gold futures for December delivery settled down 3.3 percent at $1,269.70 per ounce.

Silver was down 5.1 percent at $17.78 an ounce.

"(Lacker) started the assault on gold by indicating that the Fed should be much more aggressive in its stance on interest rates," said Phillips Streible, senior commodities broker for RJO Futures in Chicago.

Margin calls appeared to "step up" after gold fell below $1,300 and silver below $18.50, forcing those holding long positions to either liquidate or meet requirements, he said.

The move was caused by "continued dollar strength, and traders looking for stops below such a big level," Saxo Bank's head of commodity research Ole Hansen said.

Sterling slumped to a 31-year low versus the U.S. dollar on concerns over Britain's separation from the European Union while the greenback rose to a two-month high.

Traders are now turning their attention to U.S. payrolls data for September, due at the end of the week.

While Monday's data showing U.S. factories ramped up activity in September fueled speculation that the Fed would lift rates at its December meeting, officials remain cautious.

Platinum was down 1.9 percent at $984.95 an ounce, after falling to the lowest in more than three months at $979.50. Palladium fell 2 percent at $697.15.

(Additional reporting by Nallur Sethuraman in Bengaluru; editing by Keith Weir and Cynthia Osterman)